The Jacksonville Aviation Authority today wheeled out a new logo and renamed three of its airports as part of a branding campaign aimed at bringing more business to the authority’s four airports.

The biggest name change is at Craig Airport, now called Jacksonville Executive Airport. Officials said the airport’s location off St. Johns Bluff Road, between Atlantic Boulevard and Monument Road, is convenient for executives making a business trips because it is close to suburban office parks.

The airport previously took its name in honor of James Edwin Craig, a Jacksonville native who was killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Craig had reached the rank of lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy when he died, according to the U.S. Navy’s official history program.

The authority is looking for ways to put Craig’s name on other venues in the vicinity of the airport, such as entry roads.

On the Westside, Cecil Field will become Cecil Airport and Herlong Airport will become Herlong Recreational Airport. Jacksonville International Airport’s name will stay the same.

The new logo shows the symbol of an airplane with four slash marks representing the four airports. The aviation authority also unveiled the slogan “Going Beyond, Daily.”

The branding will be part of a three-year campaign that will start with a $125,000 budget. Further expenses for the marketing could add another $100,000.

The cost will be determined as the authority decides what kinds of media it will use for the advertising and what geographic locations will be targeted.

For instance, the aviation authority wants to stamp its brand in San Juan Puerto Rico when JetBlue begins flying there in May and in Denver when Southwest Airlines begins non-stop service from Jacksonville in June.
“The entire campaign is related to the goal of being the best economic engine we can be,” said Steve Grossman, executive director and CEO of the authority.

The name change for the airports does not signify a different course for them, but is intended to portray how the various airports are used now, officials said.

The new logo also dovetails with the authority’s plans for marking its 10th anniversary in 2011. The state Legislature created the aviation authority by splitting the airports from the Jacksonville Port Authority.

Big Communications Inc., based in Birmingham, Ala., worked with the authority on the new branding campaign. Big Communications has launched similar marketing for other airports.